Six Benefits of Using a Warehousing and Inventory Management System

The fierce competition in the modern business environment demands that companies streamline their operations to be as efficient as possible. One area of potential optimization that often goes unnoticed is inventory management and warehousing. A vendor’s warehousing and inventory management system can offer significant benefits in this arena.

With this type of partnership, the vendor takes control of your inventory, regularly providing an agreed-upon number of products and replenishing stock when needed based on forecasts.

Key Benefits of a Warehousing and Inventory Management System

Increased Operational Efficiency

The primary benefit of employing a vendor’s warehousing and inventory management system is its enhanced operational efficiency. Traditionally, managing inventory was a manual process, often tedious and error-prone, involving the physical counting of goods and extensive paperwork. Rush orders or disappointed customers could result, driving up costs. With a vendor’s system, automation takes over, significantly reducing human error, increasing accuracy, and saving valuable time. Staff can focus more on strategic tasks instead of mundane manual work.

Ensured On-Time Deliveries And Shortened Lead Times

Not having products when needed can shut down your production lines and upset your customers. At a minimum, it brings frustration. Typically with many vendors, you wait in a queue for your products to be manufactured when they fit into the manufacturer’s schedule. With a vendor-managed inventory system, your products are manufactured before you need them and are shipped according to the schedule you’ve agreed upon.

Inventory Optimization

Inventory optimization is another significant advantage. Vendor-managed inventory reduces the risk of overstocking or understocking, both of which can lead to financial losses. Overstocking can cause increased holding costs and potential wastage while understocking can result in lost sales and unsatisfied customers.

Driving the optimization is the increased visibility that you might otherwise not have. Valuable insight into your stock levels and usage can help you to identify patterns that can help optimize your inventory.

Reduced Need for Additional Space

Your plastic injection molder’s warehousing systems result in significant cost savings by allowing you to optimize warehouse space by determining what you must keep on hand. By relying on your vendor’s warehousing and inventory management system, you reduce your own warehouse and inventory carrying costs.

Scalability

The flexibility and scalability offered by vendors’ warehousing and inventory management systems is another crucial benefit. As businesses grow, so too does their inventory. A robust system can quickly scale up to meet increased demand without necessitating substantial infrastructure investment. It also allows companies to be agile in their response to changing market conditions.

Reduced Waste

Excess parts are significantly reduced when your injection molder is warehousing your supply and managing the inventory. Supply chain issues in recent years left many companies filling their warehouses with vast quantities of products because of the uncertainty, putting them at risk. Many of those parts could become waste if the part changes or is removed from use. With a vendor-managed inventory system, insight into your inventory turns allows you to see the slow movers and avoid stocking what isn’t required. Since the plastic injection molder replenishes stock to an agreed-upon level, if a part becomes obsolete, you are only responsible for that quantity, reducing your risk and waste.

Improved Supplier Relationships

While not often considered, a vendor-managed inventory system can improve supplier relationships. The transparency gained can improve collaboration and strengthen your partnership with your plastic injection molder. Your injection molder has the latitude to run parts when it fits into their schedule, and you can be confident that you will get the parts you need when you need them.

Our Inventory Management System and Warehousing Serve Large Scale Operations

Deluxe Plastics operates three injection molding facilities spanning over 350,000 square feet in total. Each of our facilities boasts more than 100,000 square feet, allowing us the space to provide warehousing and managed inventory services to our large customers. Our service is designed to streamline our customer’s inventory management.

We hold inventory at our warehouse based on our customer’s forecasts and facilitate on-demand access. Customers can pull from their inventory as needed, which we continuously monitor and report on. This system is designed to ensure that our customers rarely find themselves short on stock.

Our service is customizable, with the minimum inventory levels determined based on the needs of the account. Raw resin materials are stocked plentifully throughout six high-capacity silos to ensure we don’t encounter any shortages due to supply constraints.

Additionally, we can offer direct shipping to our customers, providing an end-to-end solution that enables seamless, efficient operations. We offer a comprehensive, tailored service designed to meet our customers’ unique needs.

Contact us to learn more about how our inventory management system can empower your organization today.